


A Love Letter From Yorkshire

by Allamarain



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: A Series of Unanswered Voicemails, Angst, F/F, Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22995118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allamarain/pseuds/Allamarain
Summary: Some things need to be spoken aloud, even if nobody else hears them.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan (one sided)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 74





	A Love Letter From Yorkshire

_Beep._ “Doctor, it’s Yaz. Call me when you get this.” 

\--

_Beep._ “Doctor, it’s me again. We made it back to Earth. Landed in Leeds. If you don’t show up soon we’ll have to hitch a ride home. Don’t know where you are, but call me straight away.”  


\--

_Beep._ Doctor, it’s me. Where are you? It’s been three days and we haven’t heard from you. Ravio and her friends keep looking at me with pity. They haven’t said anything, but they think you’re dead. I don’t believe that. You can’t be dead. You can’t. It wasn’t supposed to be you, anyway. Anyway, call me.” 

  
\--

_Beep._ “Doctor, still ignoring me, huh? If you want to be like that, fine. Thought I’d keep you posted anyway. The people we brought back are staying with Graham and Ryan for now. Went to see them yesterday. Thought they’d be happy, but they’re a mess, Doctor. They huddle together on the floor. They jump at the slightest noise. They hoard food, even though Graham has told them repeatedly he has plenty. They won’t talk about it at all. Is that what it’s like, to go through war? Is this what you worried would happen to us? We spent so much time jumping from place to place, we never stuck around long enough to see the consequences. 

“Is that what happened to you, Doctor? Is that why you don’t like weapons? Is that why you don’t talk about yourself? There’s so much I wanted to know about you and I never found out.”  


\--

_Beep._ “Doctor, I don’t know why I keep leaving these. I’ve left dozens and you’ve not answered a single one. Feels like I’m flinging off a message in a bottle every time. The number’s not disconnected, which means your phone’s still out there, right? That you’re still out there? Or maybe you’re just out of range. What kind of calling plan do you have on that thing anyway? 

“Visited Graham today. Helped him in his garden, pulling weeds. It’s May now, and they’ve run amok. He complained about them the whole time. You’d think after escaping a Cybermen ship he’d have some more perspective, yeah? We talked about you a little. He joked you lost the TARDIS again. He thinks there’s something you needed to do, maybe there were some Cybermen that got away. It’s killing me to not know. We don’t even know what happened on Gallifrey, not really. It all happened so fast. 

“Graham’s trying to get on with things. So’s Ryan. Makes sense, can’t sit around waiting forever. But no matter what I’m doing, when you get here, I’ll be ready. We’ll be ready, I mean. All of us.” 

\--

_Beep._ “Doctor, It wasn’t something I did, was it? Is that why you pushed me away, at the end? I keep thinking of your expression that day, haunted and weary. If it was something I did, I’m sorry. You-you don’t have to travel with me again. You don’t even have to see me again. Just let me know you’re okay.” 

\--

_Beep._ “Doctor, it’s me. Good news: I completed my probation. Full fledged copper now. Celebrated with Mum, Dad and Sonya last night. Nothing big, just dinner at a posh restaurant, but Mum and Dad looked so proud. Didn’t hurt they thought I was on a secret mission while I was gone. The thing is...I kept thinking….how much I wanted you to be there, Doctor. 

“It’s funny, even after all these months you’ve been away, I keep expecting to see you. I don’t think you’re...gone, because it doesn’t feel like you’re gone. It feels like you’ve dropped us off at home, and any minute, you’re going to turn up and take us on our next adventure. I keep looking out the walkway, expecting your TARDIS to materialize below. I see someone wearing a long grey coat out of the corner of my eye, and my head whips around and my heart races. But it’s not you. It’s never you.” 

\--

_Beep._ “Hi Doctor. It’s 2am, and I’ve just gotten off my shift. Still need to take the squad car back. Been taking night shifts. Not sleeping very well these days. Been prescribed sleeping pills and they help, a little. Feels like there’s too much noise in my brain all the time, but right now, it’s calm, and clear, and quiet, and I’m looking up at the stars. How many of them did we visit? I lost count. Are you up there, somewhere? Looking down on us? Think I’ll stay out here a while longer.” 

\--

_Beep._ “Hi, Doctor. Surprised your voicemail box isn’t full yet. Does that mean you’re listening and not returning my calls? Or maybe you have some weird alien trick for dealing with it. Anyway, um, I’m dating someone. Couple of mates at work set us up. Her name’s Celeste. Does that surprise you, I’m dating a woman? We never really talked about it. You’d like her a lot, I think. She’s very perky and she’ll talk your ear off. It’s all right though. I like listening. We’ve gone out a few times now. She’s nice. Do your people...date? Marry? It was one of those things I wanted to know. No reason, really, just curious. I should go; I need to get out for a jog. Now that I’m no longer running for my life on a daily basis, I need to stay in shape.” 

\--

_Beep._ “Hi, Doctor. I can’t sleep. I’ve been lying in bed for hours. I need to talk to you. I broke it off with Celeste tonight. Don’t get me wrong, she’s nice, really nice. Just didn’t think she was the right person for me. Wasn’t her fault. 

“It wasn’t her. It wasn’t her at all. It was you. 

“I’m trying to get on with things like the boys are, and I can’t. I just can’t, Doctor. How am I supposed to move on without you?! Want to know why I can’t sleep? It’s because when I close my eyes, you’re all I see. I know every line, every angle. The way you’d smile at me when I figured something out. How I’d watch you talk about some planet or species, and how you’d be lost in the wonder of it, just like I’d be lost in the wonder of you. 

“I was tired of lying to myself. When Celeste and I were...together, my mind would always drift back to you. Imagining it was you. Your name on the tip of my tongue, just aching to be spoken. I know you don’t...you don’t love me, and it doesn’t even matter, but if you’re out there, anywhere, in any part of the universe and somehow you can hear this...I just want you to know. That’s all.” 

Yaz’s finger hovers over the buttons as a robotic voice says, “ _If you are ready to send your message, press 1. If you wish to re-record, press 2_.” 

With a sigh of resignation, she pushes the latter.


End file.
